Dozens rounded up in New York and New Jersey extortion probe

Source: Reuters

By Chris Francescani
NEW YORK | Wed Jan 16, 2013 10:23am EST

(Reuters) - Dozens of individuals, whom authorities identified as New York-area organized crime figures, were arrested Wednesday following an investigation of alleged extortion of local garbage haulers, a federal official confirmed Wednesday.

More than 30 suspects in New York and New Jersey were taken into custody, said J. Peter Donald, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York office.

Many of those taken into custody were suspected members of several of New York's five organized crime families, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said.

The investigation focused on alleged extortion and loan sharking schemes, in which these figures targeted private New York area garbage haulers, the official said.